Saturday
September 7, 2024 
The anticipated merger of Doylestown Health with the University of Pennsylvania Health System may come in mid-August, according to multiple sources.
In January, the two health care providers signed a letter of intent to bring Doylestown Health into Penn Medicine’s network, providing Doylestown could meet certain financial goals and reduce its significant debt of more than $200 million.
On Monday, it was announced the two were nearing a finalization of the deal.
“We needed to continue to show improvement, basically,” Jim Brexler, CEO of Doylestown Health, told the Philadelphia Business Journal. “What was asked of us was to hit our budget and demonstrate that we are, in fact, improving,” Brexler said.
As part of its effort to bring down its debt, Doylestown Health sold its complex of independent living cottages, apartments and nursing facility at Pine Run Retirement Community to Presbyterian Senior Living for $80.6 million last July, garnering $35.2 million.
Doylestown Health’s goal was to cut its overall loss to $6.7 million this fiscal year, down from the $15.2 million it was in 2023, according to Philadelphia Business Journal.
Both Brexler and Kevin Mahoney, CEO of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, expressed confidence that an agreement may be signed within the next several weeks.
The merger, said Brexler, will not alter the role of the Village Improvement Association, which founded Doylestown Hospital in 1923.
“Members of the Village Improvement Association of Doylestown (VIA) will remain actively involved on the board of Doylestown Health. Alongside community members who currently serve on Doylestown Health’s Board of Trustees, members of the VIA will continue to be a driving force, bringing local perspectives and priorities to decision-making, ensuring the hospital’s services align with community needs, fostering community trust and support,” said Brexler, in an email.
Penn Medicine operates six hospitals – the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, as well as Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Health and Princeton Health
Doylestown Health has been part of the Penn Cancer Network for more than 10 years.
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